Jeopardy question: 10,000 red flags pointing to murder but no smoking gun. Answer: What is the going standard for a Prime Minister in India? (Clean chit baby!)
Let’s say you’re selecting a domestic worker for your home – a chef… a chauffeur… or a gardener perhaps for your backyard. Along comes Mr. Qualified with an impressive resume of achievements in cooking, driving, or spadework. Impressed as you are, you run a background check to see if he has a criminal history. You find that he has no convictions… but wait, what’s this you see? Dozens of criminal cases have been filed against this man for abetting murder of over a thousand human beings and other supporting offenses. Most have been dropped or dismissed for lack of evidence. Few are still pending in courts. Then there is the testimony of thousands that lays blame on him… realms upon realms of accusations, incriminatory blogs and journalistic pieces. There are secretly taped videos of folks confessing to first hand seeing his involvement in the murders. There are credible witnesses of his transgression that have mysteriously been killed.
You’re aghast and dazed absorbing this information when the door-bell rings. This man stops by again asking if his role is confirmed. You peer into his eyes incredulously. He is perceptive and realizes you’re on to him. He flashes back an assuring smile telling you to ignore all the noise, and to focus on the “clean chit”. He asks you to focus on the awesome Chicken Kadhai he makes or his driving skills that enable him to circle your building’s compound in reverse while brushing his teeth. “Your kitchen and your car are safe with me. You are safe with me. The negative information you may have heard about me is all a ploy of your previous worker who is jealous of me. You’ve had him for so many years, give me a chance…” You begin shutting the door and politely ask him to leave and make up an excuse about already having found someone (don’t want to anger him lest he come back at night to slit your throat”).
You’re comparing him to the previous gardener who was kinda slow and rambled when you asked him pointed questions, and whose uncles and cousins stole a thousand bucks from your unattended wallet, but god what a no contest when comparing the two?
Surely we all agree on this hypothetical scenario and surely we all would feel relieved at having dodged a bullet. “God knows if he is really guilty, but no fucking way I’m taking a chance with all those allegations”.
By now you know where I’m going with this.
To folks who will elect BJP and Narendra Modi to Indian premiership this year:
Dear NaMo supporter, You wouldn’t hire a bloody yard boy if there were red flags of murder around him even if he was acquitted by every court in the land, and yet you are ready to elect a man in exactly that situation as the Prime Minister of the country! Does this make sense to you? It’s utterly inexplicable to me and many others.
Assuming we all believe in NaMo’s economic talent (debatable but out of scope for this piece) there can be only two reasons why you think it is OK to elect him as Prime Minister.
Reason 1 You don’t believe that there are enough red flags,or that they amount to any consequence. This is an easy problem to solve. I’ve tried to condense most of the relevant ones here. Read on and find more online.What you cannot do after reading this piece is deny the presence of a plethora of red flags. OR Reason 2
You don’t believe this person is any threat to you because his alleged murderous rage has been only directed at a sub-sect of your country, and you are fortunate enough to have been a race-winning sperm incubated in the testicle of a man from outside that sect. You’re safe. 15% of your countrymen are not, but you could care less, or worse, it actually gives you a kick.
If you subscribe to reason 2, there is nothing I can or anyone else can say to you to change your mind. You my friend suffer from bigotry, irrespective of how you may have justified it to yourself (they deserve it, they started it, their ancestors killed so many Hindus in the 1600 and 1700s, why don’t they move to Pakistan…). It’s best you stop reading this article cause nothing I say here even attempts to address bigotry. That’s your battle to fight, or not.
After the Godhra train incident in which 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed, Modi is accused of sanctioning a state sponsored pogrom targeting Muslims. Specifically, he is alleged to have asked the state police machinery to stand down and allow the Hindus to vent their anger. He is accused of sending his henchmen to lead the massacres first hand and then providing support in subverting the judicial process when they were arrested and prosecuted. VHP, BD, RSS, and BJP cadre led mobs collectively massacred over a thousand Muslims over two days while being supported by the police and administrators. Almost all of them including Modi have stayed safe from convictions, thanks likely to the most massive cover up operation in our lifetimes.
This piece is focused on laying out the red flags that are most egregious and hoping that those that are leaning his way because of reason 1, have a chance to re-evaluate. I make no claims about the certainty of his guilt. Perhaps he is innocent and this is a massive conspiracy. But any reasonable observer, having researched all the red flags, cannot but walk away with enough doubt of his innocence. That in and of itself should be a disqualification against Modi’s candidacy.
Red Flag 1: Haren Pandya, murdered BJP minister who was going to testify against Modi
If you believe NaMo is innocent, surely you have evaluated the gargantuan red flag that is the murder of Haren Pandya, ex-revenue minister of Gujrat and part of NaMo’s government in 2002? Going by anecdotal evidence, I’m guessing many haven’t even heard of him and that in and of itself is a testament to the successful cover-up game orchestrated here. Haren Pandya was a senior BJP politician and in 2002 was Gujarat’s minister of revenue serving under Modi. 2 months after the riot, Pandya deposed before a retired Supreme Court Judge PB Sawant and a retired Bombay High court judgeHosbert Suresh, on the condition of anonymity, stating that Modi held a meeting on Feb 27th and asked the police to stand down and let the Hindus vent their anger. This is noted by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on page 18 of their report. This was the smoking gun if there ever was one. Pandya was ready to testify when the case came to trial and this testimony alone could have nailed Modi. Sadly, he never got to. He was mysteriously murdered less than year after he confided in the two judges. Since his deposition was never recorded, it is now hearsay since it was made before“retired” judges and not sitting judges. NaMo will have you believe that this is a clean chit. In fact, this is straight out of a Bollywood 80s movie. No evidence to convict, but does this look anything like a clean chit to you?
Red flag 2 – Mayaben Kodnani, life sentence serving convicted mass murderer and Modi’s minister.
Dr. Mayaben Kodnani, ex BJP MLA from Gujarat, a trained gynecologist, was part of NaMo’s ruling BJP government in 2002, and was subsequently elevated by him to Minister for Women and Child development for Gujarat in 2007. The testimonies against her started pouring in soon after the 2002 riots. It was alleged that she directly led a mob, handed out swords, shot a gun, and marshaled a 5,000 strong Hindu mob into massacring 100+ Muslims. The violence she led in Naroda Patiya lasted over 10 hours, during which Muslims were raped, shot, stabbed, and burned alive. Naroda Patiya was an abjectly poor slum-like society comprising of mainly day-laborers. Many were hacked to death and about 70 were chased into a large pit where kerosene was poured on them and the group burned alive in a macabre mass-extermination. Images of charred families clinging to one another in desperate hope are the kind that haunt you long after you see them.
Consider this:
Do we really think that a BJP MLA carried out this genocide in defiance to her boss, or without his knowledge? In a country where hierarchy and approval pervades all walks of life from school to corporate offices, and is never more stark than in politics, is it really possible that Mayaben got off her couch,wore battle fatigues, consulted no one in her leadership and went out on the streets and picked up 5,000 men along the way? If you believe that, do you also believe that Kim Jong Un is a boy scout with the misfortune of being surrounded by evil administrators? Of course her actions were blessed up and down the food-chain.
Despite the myriad voices calling Mayaben a murderer, Modi rewarded her in 2007 with a ministerial position in his government. What can a reasonable person make of that other than the fact that Modi liked her record? Most importantly, in 2012 Mayaben was convicted for her role in the 2002 riots, and sentenced to 28 years in prison. While the facts were validated by the court in 2012, do we really think Modi didn’t know these facts in 2007? Is Mayaben’s power such that she could keep her boss in the dark for 10 years about the details of an action that took 5,000 men, countless phone calls, and countless witnesses in orchestrating? Surely, if Modi was innocent as he claims, and if he had his heart in the right place as he claims,he would have made a few phone calls and found out the truth about Mayaben in a matter of days after the riots. The fact that he rewarded her in 2007 is a strong indication that he approved of her actions. Again, this line of reasoning is probably not enough to convict, but does it look like a clean chit to you?
Red Flag 3 – Babu Bajrangi, convicted murderer and Bajrang Dal leader implicates Modi on camera
Another one of the convicted murderers, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi was in lock step with Mayaben in Naroda Patiya. He has left us with probably the most chilling and damning evidence against Modi on tape, thanks to the fearless journalist Ashish Khetan. Worth noting here that on the behest of the NHRC, the CBI has examined all the tehelka tapes and declared them genuine. The SIT didn’t think they had the evidentiary value needed to convict in court, but again, miles from the Clean Chit Modi will have you believe. Key points made by Bajrangi in his sting tape:
Narendrabhai made it all possible. If he hadn’t controlled the police, they would have fucked us. For two days he was in control and then pressure from the center came.
Narendrabhai came to the places where we had rioted and showed his support
When the police was trying to arrest me, Narendrabhai hid me in Gujarat Bhavan in mount abu.
Narendrabhai changed judges 5 times to help me.
Red flag 4 – Arvind Pandya, Modi’s Government counsel to the Nanavati Commission
One of the most telling Tehelka stings was against Modi’s lawyer to the Nanavati Commission, Arvind Pandya. Gist of what he said:
This would have never happened with a congress government. They pander to the muslims. We are fortunate to have a strong leader who let us take revenge.
Modi gave the orders to the police to stand down
When Modi first heard of the train incident, his blood was boiling. He wanted revenge. If he was not Chief Minister, he would have burst bombs with us in Juhapura.
Red flag 5 – BJP MLA and Bajrang Dal leader Haresh Bhatt
Another stellar sting. Here’s what he said on camera:
Modi gave us three days to do what we want. Then he told us to stop and we did.
He has done what no chief minister can do.
Video link to all these sting operations and more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsfgqb8972g
Red flag 6: DIG Sanjeev Bhatt, intrepid whistle blower.
Against the tide of yes-men feigning loss of memory of the meeting Modi held on 27th Feb 2002, Sanjeev Bhatt has displayed exemplary courage in speaking the truth. He was the ranking Intelligence Bureau officer in Gujarat at the time (Deputy Commissioner). He has stated several times that Modi unequivocally asked the police to stand down in that meeting. In front of the SIT he said that he will testify his position in court if the need arose. The BJP has tried to paint him as a congress crony and unreliable. He was even framed and arrested on false charges. The Supreme court recently dismissed those charges against him. Now it is possible that this man was fame hungry and a sensationalist but point me to one incident in his past that would indicate that he was prone to such reckless grandiose. His family and he have been subjected to relentless threats and have round the clock security protecting them. Does that sound like the kind of life someone would willingly pick just to fabricate a story and get famous? The reasonable observer can only draw the conclusion that Bhatt chose to swim upstream and has had the kitchen sink of retribution thrown at him. Clean chit indeed.
Red flag 7: Police Commissioner Sreekumar, another fearless whistle blower.
SB Sreekumar took over as top cop of the Intelligence Bureau post Godhra. He immediately began digging around and created a mountain of complaints and concerns against Modi and the BJP. Among his complaints:
Modi gave him a verbal order to illegally tap phones of several politicians including Haren Pandya who was murdered a few months later.
Modi gave him verbal orders to eliminate certain Muslims.
Modi and his team tried to coach him into giving false testimony to the Nanavati commission.
Many members of the police force were intimidating witnesses to not testify against Modi and BJP.
The rank and file of the police force was taking orders directly from the BJP government and disobeying their own leaders including him.
Sreekumar was transferred out within four months of joining. Another case of a grandeur driven megalomaniac taking on the innocent Modi, or another brave soul who was crushed? Sreekumar was transferred to inconsequential roles and his post-retirement benefits held back due to a technicality. He only recently got relief from the Supreme court in terms of retirement benefits. What kind of petty mentality stoops to blocking pension due to a police officer?
Red flag 8: VHP/RSS appointed public prosecutors
The SIT observes in its report that an unusual amount of VHP/RSS affiliated public prosecutors were assigned to cases against those accused of conducting the riots. Understandably, most of the accused were acquitted scot-free given that the ones tasked with convicting them were actually their drinking buddies. This is text book subversion of the law by the government and yet the BJP will have us believe that the accused got a clean chit.
On page 157, the SIT report records that a pro-VHP advocate named Raghuvir Pandya was appointed as government pleader in the Vadodara District and Sessions Court in 2002. Pandya conducted the trial of the infamous Best Bakery case which resulted in the acquittal of all the accused. The SIT further writes that the “Supreme Court of India had passed serious strictures on the role played by Pandya in this trial which deserves to be brought to the notice of the Bar Association for suitable action as deemed fit.” SIT lists five more instances of VHP or RSS leaders being appointed as public prosecutors. The report mentions that ‘political consideration and affiliation of the advocates weighed heavily with the government’ in these appointments. Then it contradicts itself by saying that ‘no specific allegation of professional misconduct on the part of any of the public prosecutors has come to light.’
Red flag 9 – Plum postings for police officers accused of abetting the riots.
MK Tandon, joint commissioner responsible for the Gulberg Society area and Naroda Patiya, was found to have “deliberately not responded to distress calls” by the SIT. Instead the SIT observes, he registered bogus cases in other neighborhoods to justify his presence there. The SIT has also found that Tandon was in telephonic contact with Jaideep Patel and Mayaben Kodnani — the architect of massacres at Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya. How was this police officer treated by Modi post Godhra? He was double promoted in short time and given super powerful posts up until he retired. Given that the complaints against him started right away, and given that the SIT found evidence of his complicity, do we really believe that Modi was oblivious of his guilt when he promoted him twice? Like Tandon, there are at least 20 other officers and bureaucrats with suspicious promotions as noted by the SIT.Obviously hard to prove a crime here, especially against Modi, but surely an observer unburdened by the legal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt” will harbor enough doubt to disqualify this man from the top post?
Red flag 10 – Swift punishment for police officers that did dare to stand up
Per the SIT report: SP Rahul Sharma protected a mosque full of people from a marauding mob. He was given transfer orders to an inconsequential far away post 3 days after that incident. 3 days! Surely transferring police officers during a communal riot cannot be blamed on standard protocol, can it? SP Vivek Srivastava arrested a BJP leader for assaulting a muslim family. Right after the arrest he got calls from the chief minister’s office probing him about the evidence in the case. One month later, he got transfer orders to become a glorified mall cop for practical purposes. The SIT notes four other cases of police officers getting suspicious and unusual transfers after combating the riots.Routine? Clean chit?
Red flag 11 – Modi’s henchmen illegally in the police control room
During the thick of the riots, against all acceptable protocol, two of Modi’s cabinet ministers were stationed inside the police control room, monitoring all deployments and police action. It can be argued that they were there to help in the crisis. Two problems with that argument–first, they held portfolios of health and housing between them so were hardly the right men for the job, and second, they were also ex-RSS and ex-Sangh members. Natural choices to aid the police during riots? Add to that the fact that police didn’t respond to repeated calls for help. What’s more likely – police did not react despite the presence of two well-intentioned ministers, or that the police did not react because of the presence of two ill-intentioned ministers there to do their master’s bidding? Making the story even fishier is the fact that initially the top cops denied their presence in the control room till it was proven out by other interviews and finally a confession from the ministers. What was the need to deny their presence initially if they were really helping?
Red flag 12 – Amit Shah, Modi’s right hand man, out on bail for murder
We are the company we keep, right? Then what do the shenanigans of Modi’s right hand man Amit Shah tell us about Modi? This man is facing multiple cases and trials for murder, extortion, encounter killings, and illegal surveillance. He is currently out on bail, and had to resign from Modi’s Home Minister position in 2010 after being arrested. The Supreme Court has barred him from entering Gujarat lest he interfere with the investigation. Modi however has found ways to keep Shah entertained outside of Gujarat. He is the BJP’s election manager in UP for 2014, which keeps him close to his “sahib” since Modi is contesting from U.P. Throughout the history of the world, the right-hand man of the ruler/President/PM has occupied a place of immense power often without responsibility and accountability. Often times right hand men are contributing equally to policies and decisions as their masters do. What kind of country will India be with Amit Shah as the right hand man of the premier? Take a look beyond the roads and highways of Gujarat and see what you’re really signing up for by voting BJP.
Red flag 13 – Atal Bihari’s Vajpayee’s disdain towards Modi
We would be hard pressed to find an Indian Prime Minister more respected than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Vajpayee was the serving PM during Godhra and made his displeasure towards Modi known in no uncertain terms. He wrote Modi an official letter that has been made available through RTI. In it, he asks Modi to “adhere to Raj dharma and not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion.” Why would the leader of the BJP need to do that if Modi was indeed the impartial CM striving to control the situation? In the aftermath of the lok sabha rout of 2004, Vajpayee said “We lost because of Gujarat.I should have removed Modi”. Certainly Vajpayee would have known a thing or two that you and I don’t about the truth in Gujarat. It is uncommon for a PM to chastise a CM from his own party, and add a dent to the party’s image. Even so,one of the most respected PMs of all time did exactly that. What does that tell us?
Red flag 14 – Complete destruction of police records from the riots
On page 13 of its report, the SIT says “The Gujarat government has reportedly destroyed the police wireless communication of the period pertaining to the riots.” It adds, “No records, documentations or minutes of the crucial law and order meetings held by the government during the riots had been kept.” Sudden urge to recycle paper and save the planet or massive cover-up?
There’s more than this baker’s dozen plus one of red flags. I’ve heard people try and explain away one or two of these flags, and that’s reasonable. Can you really explain away all of them? Can you really look at all this evidence, and turn the other way finding solace in the“not enough evidence to prosecute” position the SIT has taken? Is that the going standard for a Prime Minister today? Another author summed it up well when he said that India will cross the moral boundary of no return should they decide to elect Modi as PM knowing in their hearts that he could be guilty. If you support him, really your only excuse should be that you truly believe that all of this is a major conspiracy and you’re certain that he is innocent. If not, you just destroyed the fundamental value system any decent society is established on. The argument that it is somehow OK to accept the likelihood of Modi’s guilt and still elect him because the incumbents ran a few scams and because Modi has led economic growth defies all standards of humanity.
I leave you with a hypothetical situation.
Imagine yourself and your family as immigrants to the United States of America, prosperously ensconced in the heart of the country in say Knoxville, Tennessee. Imagine that a growing “anti-indian” wave is fueled by Indians being perceived as immigrants who have stolen jobs from Americans. Perhaps a flash point incident occurs in which a white family is driven to suicide after the mother and father lose their jobs to Indians. Mobs bay for Indian blood. Imagine a 5,000 strong mob of White Americans gathering outside a community known to have several Indian families. You, your family,your neighbors, all incessantly call 911 and are given copy book answers or worse there is no response. Meanwhile the Governor of the state summons the police chiefs and ask them to stand down and let the people vent their anger. You see cops standing on the periphery of the complex, armed to the teeth but not moving a muscle to control the mob. A few young Indian men from the Gupta house two doors down try and mount a defense using their Dad’s shot-gun. You see the police finally step into action but to your horror they gun down the Gupta boys and retreat to their squad cars. The police action gives the mob validation and free reign. The dam is breached and the mob runs amok. You see the community’s Indian women raped, children hacked, men burned, and unborn fetuses pulled out with swords and thrown to the ground. The horror lasts 10 hours and over a thousand Indians are brutally massacred in cold blood.
This incident is followed by a period of great economic growth for Tennessee. Witnesses murdered, officials bribed and punished, the cases against the governor and other accused dropped for lack of evidence and because members of the KKK are appointed as District Attorneys prosecuting the accused. Then imagine that the United States elects this man to President of the country 12 years later. This made possible by a combination of old timers that secretly admire the governor for “teaching the Indians a lesson”, and young adults in their early 20s that have little or no memory of the genocide and are filled with misdirected nationalistic pride fueled by hormones that program them to rebel and that by definition means “anti-establishment and anti-incumbent”.
You tell me how history and the world will judge USA if that governor was to be elected President. You tell me if his economic gains will make any difference. To the world and certainly to all Indians, that man and by association USA will always be the epitome of what is wrong with this world. India is on the edge of that precipice. It doesn’t matter if we think Rahul Gandhi is slow or if Kejriwal is a drama queen. A civilized society cannot cannot cannot elect anyone it believes might be a mass murderer. We will lose our claim to civilization if that happens, and a few successful industries and roads will never offset that.
Read mo ehere http://slicethefog.blogspot.in/2014/03/not-enough-evidence-to-convict-is-new.html
Kamayani Bali – Mahabal – A Kractivist with Multiple Personality Disorder ( MPD) which encompasses a clinical psychologist, journalist, lawyer and activist.
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